Sir Edward Dashwood’s idyllic, 659-acre Golden Grove estate, near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire, has come to the market – a majestic property handily located a mere 12 miles beyond the end of the M4.
It’s a truly beautiful place that offers some of the best and most picturesque fishing to be found in the British Isles – according to Knight Frank’s Atty Beor-Roberts. And with a following wind and light traffic it’s little more than a three-hour drive from London. The estate is for sale through joint agents Knight Frank and Pembroke-based Owen & Owen, at a guide price of £5 million.
Perhaps the most dramatic feature of the land is the impressive ruins of Dryslwyn Castle, which probably dates from the 1220s and was owned by the Princes of Deheubarth before falling to the English Crown in 1287. It is currently leased and maintained by CADW.
The main accommodation on this massive parcel of Wales is in the form of Glanryafon Farmhouse, a lovely traditional old home with endless views. There is also a bungalow nearby – which is rented out – and several more modern outbuildings, and a traditional stone-built barn which could be repurposed in all manner of ways depending on the appropriate permissions.
But this is a property whose main selling point is its fishing and sporting rights, which are second-to-none and go far beyond the boundary of the property itself. Golden Grove includes some 10½ miles of sea-trout fishing on the River Towy, where the traditional method is with a fly at night.
The estate also boasts the finest sea-trout fishery in Britain, if not in Europe, and the sporting rights over a staggering 3,366 acres of its own and neighbouring land.
The Golden Grove estate was established in the 16th century by the Vaughans, one of Carmarthenshire’s most illustrious families, before passing to the Cawdor family in 1804.
For many years, Golden Grove was one of the two most important estates in west Wales, before the greater part of it was sold off in the 1970s, although the fishery and most of the sportings remained intact.
Dryslwyn Castle is not the only landmark on the estate, incidentally: Dinefwr Castle, once the seat of the Lords Dinefwr, a prominent Welsh landowning family. That is not included in the sale, however: it is now owned by the National Trust.
The Golden Grove estate is for sale via Knight Frank and Pembroke-based Owen & Owen – see more details and pictures.
Spectacular Scottish castles and estates for sale
A look at the finest castles, country houses and estates for sale in Scotland today.
Welsh house with spectacular waterside views for sale
This Welsh country house on Anglesey has breathtaking sunsets, views over the Inland Sea and five acres of woodland.
A beautiful island to call your own, for the price of a one-bedroom flat
A budding Robinson Crusoe is needed to take over this gorgeous island, which lies just off the coast from Portmeirion.
-
Can't you hear me S.O.S? Our treasured native dog breeds are at risk of extinctionDo you know your Kerry blue terrier from your Lancashire heeler? A simple lack of publicity is often to blame for some of the UK's native dog breeds flying dangerously low under-the-radar.
-
'There are architects and architects, but only one ARCHITECT': Sir Edwin Lutyens and the wartime Chancellor who helped launch his stellar careerClive Aslet explores the relationship between Sir Edwin Lutyens and perhaps his most important private client, the politician and financier Reginald McKenna.
-
If heaven is on earth, it might be in this home with a converted chapel that is now a swimming pool5 Wood Barton Town House is part of an exclusive 80-acre development in Devon that also comes with fishing rights on the River Avon and four bedrooms.
-
The sounds of spring and stained glass in an Arts-and-Crafts masterpiece in DorsetWith 35 acres, more than 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and tennis court, Winterfield has it all.
-
An eight-bedroom wonder in East Sussex where the outdoors are an adventureThe interiors of Old Middleton are pretty good too.
-
A lakeside farmhouse on the market in the beautiful heart of PembrokeshireA lake, streams, 15 acres and five bedrooms. Rogershook might have it all.
-
An idyllic countryside home that's light, spacious and comes with a Grade II-listed follyHagg House is a gorgeous family home that just happens to have a miniature castle in the gardens. Annabel Dixon explains more.
-
A historic villa for sale on the Via Nomentana worthy of Rome's rich historyThree floors, lots of balconies, and a private garden in one of Rome's loveliest neighbourhoods.
-
Eight bedrooms of unlisted Edwardian elegance with sweeping views of SomersetAshton House sits near the market town of Chard and comes with a wealth of amenities both inside and out.
-
A waterside cottage in Devon with a private quay, idyllic views and the prettiest summerhouse we've seen in yearsRight beside the picturesque Yealm Estuary, No 1 Noss Mayo is an idyllic home that feels like an escape from the world. Annabel Dixon takes a look.
